Phil Klay
Phil Klay
Phil Klayis an American writer and United States Marine officer who won the National Book Award for fiction in 2014 for his first book-length publication, a collection of short stories, Redeployment...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
CountryUnited States of America
bare needed recounting
After the fighting is done, and even when it's still happening, apologies are often needed for the recounting of bare facts. Sometimes bare facts feel unpatriotic.
means unit
'Redeployment' is a military term. It means to transfer a unit from one area to another.
according marines mood people politics suppose war
I suppose it is the lot of soldiers and Marines to be objectified according to the politics of the day and the mood of the American people about their war.
citizens elect issue send states themselves united
Marines and soldiers don't issue themselves orders; they don't send themselves overseas. United States citizens elect the leaders who send us overseas.
creative decision english history iraq join marines studying war
I'd been in college studying English creative writing and history when I made the decision to join the Marines in the runup to the Iraq war.
bizarre city literally madison people straight strange war york
I literally went straight to New York City from Iraq, which was bizarre and complicated. I was walking down Madison Avenue, and it was spring, and people were smartly dressed, and it was so strange because there was no sense that we were at war. It was something to grapple with.
perceived
Pity addresses the perceived suffering, not the whole individual.
antsy dodge head letting someplace spin
I write in coffee shops, libraries, parks, museums. I get antsy and then get on my bike and go someplace else, letting the ideas spin around in my head as I dodge taxis.
foreign generally state union
In State of the Union addresses, I always look at the foreign policy and military parts first, which are generally pretty minimal.
casualties civilian coverage outlets
The First Battle of Fallujah was called off in part because of the intensity of non-U.S. media coverage of civilian casualties from outlets like Al Jazeera.
complexity experience favor narratives nuances pity reducing
Pity sidesteps complexity in favor of narratives that we're comfortable with, reducing the nuances of a person's experience to a sound bite.
arbiter engage experience figure people ultimate work
I think that just because you've been through an experience doesn't make you the ultimate arbiter of what it means. We figure things out; we work things out through the help of other people who can engage with us but also be intelligently critical.
critical fellow peter
I was studying with Peter Carey, Colum McCann; but also, my fellow students were really critical readers for me.
deal macho people
Sometimes macho language is to mask things people are not ready to deal with.